Childhood Obesity

The New Tobacco

Overcoming the childhood obesity epidemic will require changeson the scale of a social movement similar to the shift in attitudesand regulations toward smoking and tobacco. Tobacco controlbecame a successful public health movement because of shiftsin social norms and because cigarette companies came to be perceivedby many as a common enemy. In contrast, obesity advocates havenot identified a common threat or mobilized grass-roots change,nor have they identified strategies that resonate across diversesettings and constituencies. Framing obesity as a common threatcan lead to consensus regarding the interventions needed toachieve healthier children and communities.